49ers today

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, November 16, 2008

WHAT'S ON THE LINE

Absolutely nothing. In terms of the teams' combined won-lost record (4-14), this is the worst game on the NFL schedule this week.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Orange seats: There should be plenty of unoccupied ones at Candlestick for this stinker.

Red 21: That's Frank Gore's jersey number. He is expected to play after missing most of the week in practice with a strained neck that might or might not have been a concussion. Gore hurt his neck on a helmet-to-helmet hit in Arizona. He practiced Friday and said he will be good to go. He is sixth in the league in rushing with 728 yards and a 4.6-yard average.

White 76: That's the jersey number of Rams left tackle Orlando Pace, a stalwart on the offensive line. The 49ers' Justin Smith will oppose Pace most of the time from his right defensive-end spot, although Smith does move around the defensive line. Smith played one of his better games last week at Arizona but he's stuck on three sacks. (Smith also has 61 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble and two passes defensed.) He'd certainly like to add to his sack total against one of the better left tackles in the league.

Brown and Brown: Looking to complete the color-coded theme, the 49ers and Rams both have cornerbacks named Brown. It's Tarell Brown for San Francisco and Fakhir for St. Louis. T. Brown comes in on the various nickel defenses while F. Brown is the starter at right corner. Tarell Brown is one of five 49ers with one interception this season. Fakhir Brown also has a pick.